The festival’s special recreation permit from BLM is the largest of its kind in the country. Burning Man agrees to and pays for a cost estimate before the event and the final accounting is provided months after, following a post-event inspection of the site.
A BLM spokesman declined to comment on the 2015 cost appeal, but its formal response submitted noted that Burning Man officials were provided with a detailed summary of costs with receipts and that “(f)ederal government agencies are obligated to recover the full cost of providing a special benefit…”
The festival is taking the issue to the Interior Department’s internal appeals court, where an administrative law judge will decide on the case. This arbitration process, which could last more than a year, is commonly used for challenges related to grazing or mining uses and fees.
BLM contends that Burning Man demands year-round planning and an unparalleled response to protect the public lands given its scope and nature. The 2015 event required 84 law enforcement officers, as decided by the BLM.
The festival argues that that many officers aren’t necessary given that more than a thousand Burning Man volunteers also patrol the event and that it has a clean record of taking care of the land. Burning Man said in its appeal that more than half the BLM bill was to pay for labor costs, but that the paperwork lacked specific information about the duties they actually performed.
In recent years, a more openly adversarial partnership has surfaced between the festival and the increasing number of local authorities assigned to oversee it. Allen said Burning Man has been stomaching dramatically increasing costs since 2011, when its permit was $730,000.
Meanwhile, there’s been a noted crackdown on crime, which in the past has largely been drug-related. A tipping point also came last year when the BLM was forced to publicly rescinded its request for upgraded accommodations for its workers, from flushing toilets to Choco Tacos ice cream, that were derided as lavish and outlandish.
But there’s also been recent BLM leadership changes in Nevada. Both the federal authority and Burning Man organizers said planning for the 2016 festival has been going smoothly. The new state director John Rush said BLM staffing numbers are expected to go down this year because communication between both sides are now much improved.
“We want to work collaboratively with the system,” Allen said. “New BLM leadership will help us long term. We just need to get over this speed bump. We want the policies clarified moving forward.”
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